


Energon Magic

by pipermca



Series: Alt Modes and Alchemy [5]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Gen, Kid Silverstreak, Magic, Needles, Teenaged Prowl, Very slight mention of energon/blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:46:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24762568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pipermca/pseuds/pipermca
Summary: A young Prince Prowl attempts to make a forbidden charm to help him with his studies.
Series: Alt Modes and Alchemy [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/936894
Comments: 13
Kudos: 23





	Energon Magic

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was originally posted as [Chapter 9, "Magic," in the October Prompt Bingo 2018 compilation](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16160501/chapters/38069411). It's been edited and expanded a bit, and reposted so that I could add it to the series tag for which it belongs. ^.^
> 
> This story takes place several years before [The Renegade and the Hound](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12966390/chapters/29641602). It may have spoilers for that story, but only if you think hard.

Putting truth to his designation, Prince Prowl crept silently down the hallway deep in the bowels of the castle. Even though the corridor was more shadow than light at this time of night, Prowl knew each step of the way by spark. He even remembered to skirt around the one stone that always wobbled when you stepped on it.

When he reached the door of the alchemy lab, Prowl paused. He fanned his door wings out, feeling for any movement in the lab or down the hallway from the direction he'd come.

He could sense nothing. He was alone. Everything was going according to plan.

Flicking his door wings happily, Prowl carefully opened the door and slipped into the lab. He closed the door behind him and palmed on the illumination. In the flicker of the lab’s lights, Prowl made his way to the main workbench and set down his bundled scrolls.

He had memorized the list of items he needed: copper filings, mica flakes, solution of feldspar, calligraphy ink, a small iron disc, a crystal needle, a torbuk antler stylus, tongs, and an ampule. The last item was in a basket on the top shelf of the storage room, and Prowl had to drag a stool across the lab to reach it. But finally he had everything assembled on the workbench, arranged in the order he would use them as he had been taught.

He read over the recipe he’d transcribed from the book in Master Auger’s personal library once more, just to make sure he had everything. Yes, that was all that he needed. Nothing to do now but begin.

Prowl took a deep vent and picked up the needle. He figured that he might as well get the unpleasant part over with first.

As he held the crystal needle up, though, he hesitated. It had sounded so simple when he’d read it the first time: simply poke a hole in his glossa, and collect the energon on the stylus. Nothing to it.

He read the recipe again. How much energon did he need? And did it **have** to come from his glossa?

After yet another read-through of the recipe, Prowl set the scroll aside. Yes, it had to come from the glossa. That made sense: the glossa helped shape the words that came from the vocalizer. At least he didn’t need a **slice** of his glossa. An involuntary shudder ran through his frame at the thought.

"Stop psyching yourself out," Prowl whispered to himself. "You can do this."

He picked up the needle again, stared at it, and then set it back down. He slid off of the stool and ran across the lab to fetch the little mirror the Master kept in his desk. After climbing back onto the stool, Prowl looked at himself in the mirror.

Prowl's blue optics looked back at him. His helm vents looked higher on his face than the last time he'd really looked at himself in a mirror, a sure sign that it was almost time for his next upgrades. Only one more upgrade after that, and he'd be an adult. Which meant he was **almost** an adult now.

He could **absolutely** do this.

After staring at his reflection for another moment, Prowl opened his mouth and stuck out his glossa. He lifted the needle and held it up. _It’ll only hurt for a moment_ , he thought. Just a quick stab and it would be over. Still he hesitated, unable to bring the tip of the needle to his mesh.

 _Slag._ This whole plan had seemed a lot easier when he was back up in his rooms.

Prowl closed his optics tightly and held the needle between his digits tightly. _On the count of three_ , he thought. _One... Two..._

“Whatcha doin’, Prowl?”

Prowl’s engine squealed and he whirled on the stool, dropping the needle in the process. Behind him, he saw the youngest prince staring up at him. The blue and silver youngling’s yellow chevron was barely higher than the workbench.

“What are you doing here, Silverstreak?” Prowl hissed, and slid off of the stool once more. He started hunting on the ground for the needle he’d dropped. “Aren’t you supposed to be in recharge?”

“I’m returning the book Master Auger loaned me,” Silverstreak said, holding up a thick tome. The cover of the book read _Beasts and Creatures of the Praxian Wilds_. “I borrowed it so I could read about the hellhounds, but it was a little too...” Silverstreak hesitated, his door wings flickering back and forth, obviously unwilling to admit that he had been frightened by a mere book. “Well, I just didn’t want the book in my room anymore, so I’m bringing it back. Master Auger said I could just drop it off when I was done. So I’m dropping it off now.” He slid the book up onto the workbench next to Prowl’s scrolls, then frowned at his brother. “You’re supposed to be in recharge, too. And...” Silverstreak glanced at the door, which was slightly open. Prowl caught a glimpse of a mech standing in the hallway. “Where are your guards? We thought it was just Master Auger in here because the light was on, but there weren't any guards outside the door.”

“I... was just making a quick stop here,” Prowl said quietly. “They didn’t need to come along.” Prowl left out the fact that he’d snuck down the trellis outside his apartment’s balcony so that his guards wouldn’t know he’d left them behind. Catching sight of the dropped needle, Prowl stooped to pick it up. When he stood, he glared at Silverstreak. “And now that you’ve returned the book, you can go.”

Silverstreak’s optics had narrowed, and he crossed his arms over his small chest. “What’s with all the stuff you got out, huh? Why are you here in the middle of the night?” he asked. “You finished your alchemy studies last vorn, so you’re not doing schoolwork. You’re making something you’re not supposed to, aren’t you?”

Prowl’s door wings flicked up and down as his brother talked. _Fantastic._ He knew that Silverstreak wouldn’t let this go now. If he tried to get his brother to leave, Silverstreak would just refuse, or – worse! – he might tell someone what he saw Prowl doing. “I’m just... I’m making something to help me with my studies,” Prowl said finally. “And yeah, I finished alchemy already, but what’s the point of studying something if you never get to use it?”

Silverstreak considered this, then nodded. “That makes sense,” he said, then smiled. “Can I help?”

“No,” Prowl said with a soft vent. “But you can watch, only if you promise not to tell anyone.” Silverstreak nodded, grinning widely. “But keep your voice down! And go close the door, ok?” Then Prowl paused. Silverstreak’s guard would be a dead giveaway that the prince was in the lab. “Wait. Tell your guard to come in, then shut the door behind him.”

As Silverstreak ran back to the door, Prowl found a cloth and cleaned off the needle. He briefly considered asking his brother to help by donating **his** energon for the spell, but – Prowl shook his helm. No, this was his project. Besides, Silverstreak would probably whine or cry when his glossa was pricked, and it was important to stay quiet.

Prowl **definitely** didn’t want to wake the Master.

Prowl focused on his reflection again as Silverstreak clambered onto the stool next to him. Prowl stuck out his glossa once more, but froze when he heard Silverstreak’s exclamation. “Prowl! You’re not going to... Energon charms are **dangerous**!” Silverstreak whispered. His door wings sat straight up and quivered slightly as he stared at the needle. “Master Auger said only **experienced** alchemists should use recipes with fresh energon in them!”

With a growl of his engine, Prowl steadied the mirror again. “I’ve finished my studies, so I’m experienced enough,” he said, trying to sound confident. “And it’s just a drop... Just enough to activate the energies in the other materials.” Then, before he could lose his nerve again, Prowl shut his optics and stuck the needle into his glossa.

It didn’t hurt as much as he thought it would. A single prick of pain, and it was over. Prowl realized that the buildup had been much worse than the actual event, and he filed that information away for later.

He collected a few drops of his energon on the torbuk stylus as Silverstreak watched with wide optics. Then he smeared the bright energon onto the iron disc, and carefully started mixing the other ingredients in the ampule.

It didn’t take long at all. Silverstreak peppered him with questions as Prowl carefully dotted the disc with the mixed ingredients. Prowl answered his brother as best he could, proud to show off his knowledge.

Prowl lit the workbench’s burner and used the tongs to hold the disc in the flame. In a quiet voice he recited the cantrip from the Masters’ scroll. “Listen for me. Speak to me. Hear for me. Recite to me.” He turned the disc over and heated the other side until it glowed a bright red. “Serve as my audial’s glossa. Remember the words of the past, and speak them in the future.”

He carefully set the disc on the workbench for it to cool. Silverstreak peered at the disc, his door wings still held out behind him. “That seemed simple enough. What does it do?” Silverstreak asked quietly. He looked up at Prowl. “I know it’s a charm of some kind, but I don’t think I’ve studied anything like this stuff yet.”

Gathering up the tools and ingredients, Prowl said, “It’s a recording device. It’ll listen to what the Masters say, and then repeat it back to me later, when I’m studying.” He set the jar of copper filings into its place on the shelf. “This way, if I miss taking notes on something during one of their lectures, I can just play it back.”

Silverstreak slumped onto the workbench, and his door wings drooped slightly. “It figures you’d just be looking for something to help you with your studies,” he groused. “I thought you were making something **fun**.”

Prowl smiled as he slid back onto his stool. “Well, I think this is fun,” he said. He tentatively touched the disc, then picked it up when he felt that it was cool enough to hold. “Now let’s see if it works.”

Ignoring Silverstreak as the youngling leaned closer, Prowl tapped the center of the disc. His door wings wiggled in excitement when he saw the disc begin to glow with a pale yellow light. “Ruby is red and sapphire is blue, I’ve grown the sweetest crystals for you,” Prowl recited softly, then tapped the disc again. The glow faded out.

Silverstreak stared at the disc. “How do you make it play back?” he asked, his door wings wiggling in almost the same way as Prowl’s. His earlier boredom with the charm seemed to have evaporated after seeing it in action.

Prowl flipped the disc over and tapped the other side. The yellow glow returned, and a perfect copy of Prowl’s voice emanated from the disc. “Ruby is red and sapphire is blue, I’ve grown the sweetest crystals for you.”

“Neat!” Silverstreak’s door wings popped back up above his shoulders. Prowl could almost see his younger brother’s processor coming up with ways to use the charm in a prank on Smokescreen. “And can you make it remember more, or does it only remember one thing at a time?”

Prowl was about to reply when the charm repeated the sparkling rhyme it had recited before. “Ruby is red and sapphire is blue, I’ve grown the sweetest crystals for you.” It sounded a bit louder than it had the first time.

Frowning, Prowl tapped the disc, trying to make the glow fade out again. It only grew brighter... and still louder. “ **Ruby is red and sapphire is blue, I’ve grown the sweetest crystals for you.** ”

“It’s not supposed to do that, is it?” Silverstreak asked. He glanced at the door at the far end of the lab, which led to a stairwell that went straight up to Master Auger’s apartments.

"No," Prowl said, his frown deepening. He shook the disc as if he could jostle the enchantment out of it.

“ **Ruby is red and sapphire is blue, I’ve grown the sweetest crystals for you.** ”

Silverstreak's wings flicked erratically behind him. “Uh, Prowl, how do you make it stop? Or make it quieter?”

“I don’t know,” Prowl said, his door wings rising in alarm. “This is supposed to make it stop!” Prowl frantically stabbed his digit into the disc, then tried the other side. Nothing he did seemed to have any effect. In fact, the rhyme got even louder.

“ **Ruby is red and sapphire is blue, I’ve grown the sweetest crystals for you.** ”

Looking up wildly, Prowl saw Silverstreak’s head guard standing by the door, looking for all the world like he was trying to suppress a smile. Prowl glanced around the room, trying to find something to muffle the sound with. When he couldn’t find anything, Prowl shoved the charm into his compartments. It did very little to muffle the sound; if anything, it seemed to amplify the voice.

**"RUBY IS RED AND SAPPHIRE IS BLUE, I’VE GROWN THE SWEETEST CRYSTALS FOR YOU."**

Silverstreak had sidled his way off of the stool and half-walked, half-ran towards the door. “Um, well, I guess you’ve got some problems to work out of that charm,” he said, raising his voice over the one echoing out of Prowl’s compartments. “Like you said, I should probably be in recharge, so... Let’s go, Redline! Night, Prowl!” Silverstreak yanked opened the lab’s door. Then he jumped back with a squeal of his engine when he saw there was a mech standing just outside.

“Your Highness,” said Trident, looking down at Silverstreak. Prowl’s guard took a step into the lab, his optics sweeping the scene: Redline standing with Prince Silverstreak near the door, while Prince Prowl sat on a workbench stool, curled into a ball as he tried to muffle the voice coming from his midsection. Trident crossed his arms over his chest. “I see that you’ve made use of the trellis again, Your Highness.”

**"RUBY IS RED AND SAPPHIRE IS BLUE, I’VE GROWN THE SWEETEST CRYSTALS FOR YOU."**

“I’m sorry, Trident!” Prowl said over the booming voice. He hopped off the stool and ran towards the door. “But not now! Just get me back up to my–“

A new voice thundered out from the far end of the lab. “By the wings of Primus, **_what is going on here?”_**

Everyone froze as Master Auger stormed out of the stairwell that led to his quarters. He glared around the lab. Silverstreak stood half behind his huge guard, his door wings flat against his back and his optics wide as saucers. Trident still stood by the door, his arms crossed and a bemused expression on his face. Meanwhile, Prowl hunched over, desperately willing the charm to stop talking, or for the floor to open up and swallow him down into the Pit.

Either option would have been gratefully received.

**"RUBY IS RED AND SAPPHIRE IS BLUE, I’VE GROWN THE SWEETEST CRYSTALS FOR YOU."**

“What is that noise? Is it coming from you?” Auger strode over to Prowl and stood in front of him with his hands on his hips.

Prowl slowly straightened from the partial crouch he was in. It took an effort, but Prowl spread his door wings wide and lifted his chin. He pulled the charm from his compartments. “Yes, sir,” he said.

Auger held out his hand for the charm, and Prowl handed it to him. Auger held it up to his optic and looked at it closely.

**"RUBY IS RED AND SAPPHIRE IS BLUE, I’VE GROWN THE SWEETEST CRYSTALS FOR YOU."**

“A dictation charm, hmm?” He stared at Prowl until the young prince dropped his optics.

Prowl nodded. There wasn’t any point in trying to lie to the Master Alchemist.

With a grumble from his engine, Auger strode over to the mercury tank against the wall and dropped the charm in.

“ **RUBY IS RED AND SAPPHIRE IS BLUE, I’VE** **–“**

The charm was silenced instantly, with not even an echo remaining in the air.

Prowl’s door wings sank. **That** was all he’d had to do? **That** would have saved him from this trouble?

“You’re a good student, Prowl. I’m surprised you didn’t remember how to counteract minor charms,” said Auger, and smiled as realization spread across Prowl’s face. “But I’ll deal with you in a klik. What are **you** doing here, Prince Silverstreak?” Auger asked, turning to the other prince. “Both of you know better than to enter my laboratory and use the equipment without permission. But I’m especially surprised at you, Silverstreak, since we just finished going over lab safety a few cycles ago.”

Prowl could tell that Silverstreak was bravely trying to raise his door wings, but couldn’t quite manage it. He watched Silverstreak gnaw on his lower lip before saying, “I-I-I’m sorry, Master Auger.” Silverstreak’s vocaliser quavered as he spoke. “It... it won’t happen again.” The young prince’s door wings fell flat against his back again as soon as he stopped talking.

“He didn’t do anything with the charm, sir,” Prowl said. When Auger turned to face him, Prowl stood as tall as he could. “He just happened to be here returning your book. The charm was all my doing.”

Out of the corner of his optic, Prowl saw Silverstreak give him a grateful look.

Auger glanced at the workbench, where the book sat forgotten, and nodded. “Off you go, Silverstreak,” he said. “But I expect you to be on time for your studies tomorrow.”

“Yes sir thank you sir good night sir!” Silverstreak exclaimed. Before he'd even finished talking, Silverstreak bolted from the room, his guard Redline on his heels.

“As for you, Your Highness,” Auger said coldly, and Prowl felt his spark sink. “Let’s see what you were up to.” The Master picked up the scroll that Prowl had transcribed and read it over.

Every moment of silence felt like a vorn to Prowl. He’d ‘borrowed’ the book from the Master’s private library without permission. He’d transcribed the recipe. He’d created a charm using fresh energon. He’d used the lab and the Master’s materials without permission.

Prowl closed his optics and waited. There was no way he was going to get out of this without some kind of punishment.

“Do you have any ideas about where you went wrong, Prowl?”

“Sir?” Prowl opened his optics and looked at the Master, who was smiling at him. _Why was he smiling?_ “Um...” Prowl’s door wings swiveled as he tried to think. “No. I don’t.”

Auger set the scroll back down on the workbench. “You made a simple transcription error, and left out an ingredient... which you probably would have noticed had we spent more time on energon charms. But you know of their danger... That’s why we didn’t study creating them in any depth.” Auger smiled. “My fault, I suppose, for not at least covering the basics of their creation.”

Prowl blinked at Auger, unable to believe his audials. “Sir?” he asked again, and dared to lift his door wings.

“Which is not to say that you’re forgiven for using the lab without permission, or for attempting to create an energon charm,” Auger said. "They are forbidden for a reason." He rolled up Prowl’s scroll and waved it at the prince. “But if you return tomorrow morning with Silverstreak, we’ll go over the basic components of energon charms... And we’ll refresh you on **why** you shouldn’t use them.” When Prowl nodded, he added, “And then I expect three scrolls of research afterwards from you explaining why energon charms should be avoided. If you do that, then... I don’t think your sire or carrier need to know about your little failed experiment here.”

Relief cascaded through Prowl like a warm oil bath. “Yes, sir!” Prowl said immediately. He bowed to the Master Alchemist. “Thank you very much, sir!”

“All right, you can go now. I think you’re going to get an audial full from your guard next,” Auger said, smiling at Trident. One look at Trident told Prowl that Auger was probably right. “I’ll see you in the morning.” As Prowl turned to leave, he said, “Oh, and Prowl? Next time... Just ask.”

Prowl ignored the quiet chuckle from Trident. “Yes sir. I will. Have a good night, sir.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this story, please consider sharing it on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/pipermca/status/1273048805882187776), [Tumblr](https://pipermca.tumblr.com/post/621127875389702144/energon-magic), or [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.social/posts/1429945)!


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